USC pharmacy

[sophia39]

Hey everyone-- I'm hoping someone can provide some insight into USC's prepharm/ SOP program. I'm a junior in high school and recently emailed one of the TAP program admissions people to ask some questions and got some pretty vague answers. For one, I understand that you apply to the school and TAP program separately. Do you have to apply as a different major than pre-pharmacy? Will I know before enrollment date? Also, USC requires all applicants have their bachelors before applying to the SOP. Will this take 4 years? Because honestly, I think 8 years is a little excessive for pharmd and extremely cost inefficient, especially given that i live relatively close to Rutgers university which offers an 0-6 program(trying to get out of NJ though )) also, are chances good of getting into TAP, and is it hard to keep up your gpa to get into the SOP and is it guaranteed acceptance if you do? Thanks in adv

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[whitwhit]

Hey there!
You should definitely inquire about this information on their website (good stuff). Also, I would suggest asking them these questions directly, as most students accepted into USC's program get their bachelors first. Keep in mind, you must be a student at USC to get into the TAP program, and you are right--you need your degree as well. Pharmacy school will take four years, if you are looking at USC, and getting your GPA up is something you must ALWAYS focus on if you want assured acceptance into any program. If its not a 4.0, then work on always improving it. I got accepted with a 3.71. I hope this helps you, and if you need anything else, do not hesitate to start up a an convo.
Good luck to you!

 

[raydawg82]

I went there and there were 4 yes count them 4 people from the TAP program. Don't waste your time with an undergraduate degree from USC and hope the TAP program will get you in. Only guarantee is that you will have spent way too much money for an undergraduate degree. I went to UCLA a pubic school and had a GPA of 3.76 and was accepted. Lot cheaper undergraduate at UCLA than USC.

 

[PharmtoCS]

USC is way overpriced for a pharmacy program. Also, you would want to avoid going straight into pharmacy school from high school, as you would definitely want to work in the field to gain experience. The profession is nothing like what pharmacy schools make it out to be. The reality is that the job market is saturated and getting worse each year as schools continue to open with no end in sight. Just wait until KGI, West Coast, Chapman, Ketchum, and CSHU graduate their first class. The job market will become a bloodbath by then.

There are other majors you should explore, i.e. computer science, finance, accounting, engineering, etc. that pay well, offer a better work-life balance, are in high demand, and do not require you to graduate with $250k+ in loans.

 

[DrillSynchron]

USC is way overpriced for a pharmacy program. Also, you would want to avoid going straight into pharmacy school from high school, as you would definitely want to work in the field to gain experience. The profession is nothing like what pharmacy schools make it out to be. The reality is that the job market is saturated and getting worse each year as schools continue to open with no end in sight. Just wait until KGI, West Coast, Chapman, Ketchum, and CSHU graduate their first class. The job market will become a bloodbath by then.

There are other majors you should explore, i.e. computer science, finance, accounting, engineering, etc. that pay well, offer a better work-life balance, are in high demand, and do not require you to graduate with $250k+ in loans.

Nice copying and pasting and then switching up the names of the school on every thread. Is this what you do for a living? Discouraging pre-pharmacy students?

 

[PharmtoCS]

Nice copying and pasting and then switching up the names of the school on every thread. Is this what you do for a living? Discouraging pre-pharmacy students?

For good reason. It's a terrible idea to

1) Go straight from high school straight to pharmacy school when you have never worked in a pharmacy. How many students do you see coming back asking us how to land the unicorn industry jobs because they realize they cannot handle retail or even hospital until after they have reached their rotations (well into P3 or even P4 year).

2) Take out $300k+ in loans to go to USC in this saturated job market.

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[Apples2Oranges]

I just looked up USC tuition. $54k/year in tuition alone?!

6-8 yrs for a PharmD is not cost inefficient, just time inefficient. I went through 3 yrs of undergrad without debt and attended state pharm school for approx $25k/yr. If I included living expenses, it would've still been $35k/yr after everything has been said and done. That's A LOT cheaper.

You know how many times college students change their majors? A lot. Most of my friends who wanted to pursue healthcare all switched to non-science careers within 2 years. Sometimes, undergrad gives you insight on what you actually want to do rather than jump the gun and take on a massive debt by the time you're 22-26. If you can do undergrad for super cheap or debt-free, I definitely recommend you do it. But if you have to pay out of pocket, then maybe 0-6 isn't too bad.